Welcome again to TechCrunch Mobility — your central hub for information and insights on the way forward for transportation. Enroll right here free of charge — simply click on TechCrunch Mobility!
Earlier than we transfer into the information of this week, we have now yet another roundup of transportation tech at CES 2025. As I famous final week, autonomous automobile tech was in all places. However there have been different themes, too. Test it out right here.
Now, on to the most recent and biggest way forward for transportation tech information.
A bit of chook
No little chook this week, however figured this was the perfect place to bid farewell to Hindenburg Analysis, the short-seller agency that investigated suggestions from whistleblowers and used its personal analysis to root out fraud in publicly traded firms. Hindenburg Analysis founder Nate Anderson posted a notice Wednesday that the agency is shutting down.
Within the transportation and local weather tech worlds, Hindenburg is known for exposing Nikola Motors, Lordstown Motors, and billionaire Gautam Adani of The Adani Group, who was indicted over an alleged scheme to pay greater than $250 million in bribes to Indian officers in change for contracts to a 12-gigawatt solar energy challenge.
Bought a tip for us? E mail Kirsten Korosec at kirsten.korosec@techcrunch.com, Sean O’Kane at sean.okane@techcrunch.com, or Rebecca Bellan at rebecca.bellan@techcrunch.com. Or try these directions to discover ways to contact us through encrypted messaging apps or SecureDrop.
Offers!
Only a bunch of offers this week! Right here’s what stood out.
Caramel, a startup that helps automotive sellers and patrons full the ultimate steps of the transaction, is being acquired by eBay. Phrases weren’t disclosed.
EV startup Harbinger raised $100 million in a Sequence B spherical co-led by early Tesla investor Capricorn Funding Group and Leitmotif, a brand new U.S. fund co-founded by the previous M&A head for Volkswagen. Additionally becoming a member of the spherical had been Tiger International and mobility enterprise agency Maniv, each of which had been current traders.
Sarla Aviation raised $10 million in a contemporary funding spherical led by Accel and included angel traders reminiscent of Flipkart co-founder Binny Bansal, Zerodha co-founder Nikhil Kamath, and Swiggy co-founder Sriharsha Majety.
Tesla was a winner and a loser within the newest spherical of federal funding for electric-vehicle charging infrastructure. The Division of Transportation snubbed Tesla on its software for $97 million to fund a big-rig charging hall from California to Texas. However Tesla, together with three different trade companions, ended up being awarded a separate $100 million in funding to construct electrical truck charging stations throughout Illinois.
Shippeo, a startup that developed real-time monitoring software program throughout all modes of transport, raised $30 million in a funding spherical led by Toyota’s development fund Woven Capital. Battery Ventures, Partech, NGP Capital, Bpifrance Digital Enterprise, LFX Enterprise Companions, Shift4Good, and Yamaha Motor Ventures additionally participated.
Notable reads and different tidbits
Autonomous autos
Aurora Innovation is taking federal security regulators to court docket in a case that facilities across the moderately commonplace observe of putting bodily warning triangles round semi vehicles stopped alongside highways. TL;DR: This might have far-reaching implications for self-driving truck firms working in a regulatory setting designed round people.
The U.S. Division of Commerce introduced a ultimate rule that will ban the sale or import of linked autos from China and Russia on account of nationwide safety considerations. The rule would additionally bar Chinese language automotive firms, reminiscent of WeRide and Pony AI, from testing self-driving vehicles on U.S. roads.
The Nationwide Freeway Site visitors Security Administration closed its investigation into Cruise and whether or not the corporate’s robotaxis exercised applicable warning round pedestrians. The company famous that Cruise had issued a recall on its software program and that the self-driving automobile subsidiary of GM had since ceased enterprise operations.
Electrical autos, charging, & batteries
Arc Boats got here to CES 2025, and senior reporter Sean O’Kane took its Arc Sport boat for a pleasure journey on Lake Mead. Right here’s what he thought of the startup’s latest providing.
Tesla revealed a new-look Mannequin Y meant for the Chinese language and different Asian Pacific markets, marking the primary main replace to the SUV since its launch in 2020.
Sean Duffy, President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee to move the U.S. Division of Transportation, thinks homeowners of electrical autos ought to pay to make use of roads. As reporter Rebecca Bellan explains, reaching that purpose isn’t really easy.
This week’s wheels
Proper earlier than the vacations, I had an opportunity to get right into a manufacturing prototype of the 2025 Volkswagen ID. Buzz Professional S Plus. I plan to spend extra time driving the manufacturing model quickly, however for now listed below are just a few ideas on this all-electric minibus that was priced at $69,595.
I’ve been ready for this electrical minibus since 2017 when it was introduced by Volkswagen as an idea. This reimagined microbus had a near-impossible mission. It needed to be immediately recognizable and provides a nod to its iconic previous whereas paving a brand new futuristic and EV highway ahead. And in some ways, the ID. Buzz does that. It’s eye-catching; folks stopped me continually. It’s enjoyable whereas being sensible. And though it’s dearer than different minivans in the marketplace, it’s not utterly outrageous.
The model I examined was all-wheel drive, with the Metro Silver Metallic paint and “copper” inside with leatherette seating. There’s a ton of area — actually cavernous — and good particulars all through, giving it an elevated feeling. It was simple to maneuver on tight metropolis streets, regardless of its 195.4-inch size. Which yeah, that’s lengthy!
It met a number of my expectations. However I ponder about its future. This automobile can be nice as a child and grocery hauler round city. I may see it being utilized in industrial fleets in city environments as properly. However with a 91 kilowatt-hour battery that will get an estimated 234 miles of vary, I ponder if it’s going to dwell as much as its previous as a roadtrippin’ machine?
Aspect notice: Within the final publication, I provided up just a few tidbits on my Zoox robotaxi rides. Right here’s my full write-up on my Zoox expertise in Las Vegas.
What’s “This week’s wheels”? It’s an opportunity to be taught concerning the totally different transportation merchandise we’re testing, whether or not it’s an electrical or hybrid automotive, an e-bike, or perhaps a journey in an autonomous automobile.
